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Emirates Airline opens Real Madrid VIP Lounge

New facility at Bernabeu Stadium is part of five-year sponsorship deal between airline and club

By Andy Sambidge

Sun 29 Sep 2013 02:50 PM

Emirates Airline said on Sunday it has opened a VIP Lounge at the home of Real Madrid Football Club as part of its five-year sponsorship deal with the Spanish club.

The branded VIP Lounge at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was launched on Saturday night and has been unveiled less than four months after signing the prestigious five-year shirt sponsorship with Real Madrid.

The new lounge was officially opened by former Real star Emilio Butragueño, now the club's institutional relations manager, and Fernando Suárez De Góngora, Emirates’ manager Spain & Portugal.

Covering an area of 375 sq m, the lounge can comfortably host more than 200 guests during match days, the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.

The bespoke design is modelled on the cabin of a Boeing 777, the same aircraft currently serving the route between Madrid and Dubai, it added.

The Emirates VIP Lounge will be open to its invited guests an hour before and after matches and is situated just below the VIP boxes from where guests can enjoy matches with an unparalleled view.

Gongora said: “The Emirates VIP lounge is yet another milestone in the partnership between Emirates and Real Madrid, and highlights the immense value we see in our relationship with the club and with Spain.

"The unique space will be instrumental in delivering unique experiences to our guests during matches, and will be a powerful platform for on-going engagement with our customers.”

Expected to host over 6,000 guests every season, the lounge welcomes invitees to comfortable seating, large plasma screens as well as gourmet food and beverages.

Real Madrid has been part of Emirates’ impressive sponsorship portfolio since 2011. Emirates also sponsors the Barcelona Open tennis tournament in Spain, a deal which runs until 2018.

Emirates currently offers 21 weekly flights to Spain - a double daily flight to Madrid and a daily flight to Barcelona, which will be upgraded to an A380 operation on February 1 2014.